Gas permeable athletic breast restraint

ABSTRACT

A breast restraint apparatus encircling an upper torso during vigorous activities such as jogging is made up of a flexible, stretchable and compressible elongated panel having a porous neoprene inner layer bonded to a synthetic fiber layer on one or both sides thereby forming a multi-layer integral assembly. A hook type fastener material layer is joined to the panel at one end and a loop type fastener material layer is bonded to the opposing end of the panel. The two ends of the panel are formed as semicircles and may be joined for encircling the torso of an exerciser.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not applicable.

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Present Disclosure

This disclosure relates generally to breast restraining devices forsupport during vigorous activities and more particularly to such adevice that is able to be more conveniently used and which provides ahigh level of comfort during wear.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37CFR 1.97 and 1.98

Negron, U.S. D426308, discloses an ornamental design for a breast wrap.

Hanson, U.S. 2003/0166376, discloses a brassiere designed to accommodatewomen who have breasts of different sizes. The brassiere comprises aleft half including a left cup adapted to receive a user's breast, afront left closure, and a rear left closure. The brassiere furtherincludes a right half including a right cup adapted to receive a user'sbreast, a front right closure, and a rear right closure. The left cuphas a different size than the right cup, the front left closure isdetachably connected to the front right closure, and the rear leftclosure is detachably connected to the rear right closure. In thismanner, the brassiere is dimensioned to properly fit a user havingbreasts of different sizes.

Lorenzo, U.S. 2005/0004501, discloses a band for use for breaststabilization from lateral gravitational shifting. The band comprises astrip to encircle the body, a first section comprising asemi-cylindrical component of a sponge-like material at one end and anap material patch on its outer surface with a cylindrical side placedover the sternum, and a second section for connecting an end of the bodystrip to encircle a user's body. The band comprises at least onefenestration to enable breast exposure. The object of this invention isto provide a band centrally placed over the sternum and wrapped underthe arms around the chest preventing lateral breast shifting when thepatient is in the side-laying position. The invention comprises a bodystrip to accommodate breast coverage achieved with a fenestrated band.Variations of the band are also useful in dressing bodily wounds, suchas on the face or knee.

Zecher, U.S. 2006/0046615, discloses an invention that relates todevices and methods for restraining excessive breast movement while auser engages in vigorous activity. In one embodiment, a method generallyincludes substantially entirely covering the user's breasts by wrappinga strapless breast restraint around the user's torso. The method alsoincludes engaging first and second end portions of the strapless breastrestraint to one another to thereby fasten the strapless breastrestraint about the user's torso, whereby the strapless breast restraintcompresses the user's breasts firmly against the user.

Notes, U.S. Pat. No. 1,948,076, discloses a supporter for lactatingbreasts consisting of an oblong shaped band of material having a highelasticity in the longitudinal direction and relatively inelastic in thetransverse direction, the longitudinal elasticity being substantiallyuniform across the width of the band, and an adjustable connector of theslidable type and arranged to connect the ends of the band along theentire width thereof and converting the same into a circular band, andhaving means for permanently connecting the lower corners of the ends ofthe band, the connector being so disposed that it is operable upwards toclose the band and downward to open the same whereby the band offerspositive support and lift for the breast without any undue compression.

Stack, U.S. Pat. No. 2,723,396, discloses a muscle supporter for thetorso of a wearer comprising an elongated rectangular shaped member ofhighly elastic material for stretching longitudinally and transversely,the member having parallel free ends and parallel upper and lower edgesfor encircling a portion of the torso of the wearer thereby forming avertical and horizontal elasticized muscle supporter, a pair of concavemembers attached to the upper edge of the member adjacent the endsthereof and adapted to receive the breasts of a female wearer, theconcave members having free ends in alignment with the free ends of themember, continuous slidable type fastening means detachably connectingthe free ends of the rectangular member and the concave members, and ashield flap attached to the rectangular member and one concave memberadjacent a free end thereof for underlying the fastening means when thefree ends are connected.

Hurwitz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,040,750, discloses a brassiere comprising, incombination, a chest encircling band, releasable fastening means carriedby the band, a pair of breast receiving cups carried upon the band, eachone of the cups being of substantially hollow truncated conicalconfiguration, the fastening means comprising a pair of sets ofcooperating hook and eye fastening elements mounted upon the band forselective releasable engagement with each other to define asubstantially annular band for encircling the chest of the wearer, apair of substantially trapezoidal shaped panels one at the front and oneat the back side of the chest encircling band, the panel at the frontside of the band being interposed between the breast receiving cups, thetrapezoidal panels being constructed of a selected one of elastic andnon-elastic materials, and the remaining portion of the band beingconstructed from the other one of the elastic and inelastic materials.

Dormire, U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,028, discloses a breast support and binder,comprising a band for reaching around the body of a wearer, the bandbeing constructed of longitudinally stretchable material and having arectangular opening therein near the center, a single pocket of elasticmaterial secured to the band at the opening and constructed oflongitudinally stretchable material for receiving the breasts, verticalslots on opposite sides of the pocket, resilient ribs disposed in theslots, a strip of material secured to one end and on one side of theband and having numerous small securing means thereon in closely spacedrelation, and a strip of material secured to the other end and on theother side of the band and having numerous small securing means thereonin closely space relation for adhering to the first mentioned strip.

Hopps, U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,466, discloses a sleeveless bodice typeathletic support garment structured of a multi-layered rectangular frontand back panel, two length adjustable shoulder straps, a neck opening,two arm apertures, and two open able side seams attachable with hook andloop fasteners to allow size adjustability. The garment is made of aresilient material capable of dissipating heat and perspiration. Theinterior of the front panel is affixed with a flat rectangular elasticpanel to support and stabilize a woman's breasts against her chest. Theathletic support garment is especially directed for use by largebreasted women who require additional support during strenuous or activesports. The support garment can be worn in place of a bra, over existingclothing or even as an outer garment.

Farino, U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,348, discloses a therapeutic brassiere forsupporting breast implants that includes breast receiving cups. Each ofthe cups is formed from a section of body engaging fabric joinedtogether at a common seam. A chest encircling band is joined to thelower marginal edges of the cups for affixing the brassiere to the chestof a wearer. An elastic strip of material, attached to both the uppermarginal edges of the cups and to the chest encircling band preventsmovement or distortion of the breast implants.

Zarkesh, U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,648, discloses a breast binder forsupporting the breast during breast engorgement. It would be worn afterchild deliver, basically by mothers who do not intend to breast feedtheir babies, to help treat the pain caused by breast engorgement.

Corrado, U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,331, discloses a therapeutic chest dressingfor breasts having implants including a chest encircling, flexible bandprovided with front flaps whereby the band is disposed against the backof a person and the front flaps overlap and fasten to each other. Achest encircling strip is attached to the flexible band for preventingmovement or distortion of the implants for breasts received in theflexible band.

Manning, U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,563, discloses a breast wrap that has tworectangular non-stretching panels of cotton flannel material joined overa user's back by short elastic strips, and joined in overlappingrelationship across the breasts by upper and lower complementaryhook-and-loop fasteners running marginally along upper and lowerlongitudinal edges. The panels run lengthwise in opposite directionsfrom the user's back, under one arm, across both breasts, and terminateat a point located under the other arm; the panels run widthwise fromabove the breasts to below the breasts; and the fasteners are located sothey will not be pressed into the breasts. Two rectangular open-endedpouches having pockets for crushed ice, are held between the overlappingpanels by additional hook-and-loop fasteners that mate with fasteners.

akim, U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,331, discloses a nighttime nursing tube brathat comprises a front central portion having a first constant width andfirst and second side portions coupled to the left and right of thefront central portion. The top and bottom portions of the front centralportion and the first and second side portions have coupled there alongelastomeric band members which resiliently collapse around the wearer'sbody immediately above and below the breasts of the wearer. The freeends of first and second side portions, preferably, are securable viaVelcro® to form a tube bra around the chest of a nursing mother. Thefront central portion includes first and second releasable panels whichpermits easy access to the wearer's breast. In the preferred embodiment,the tube bra is made of an absorbent material such as terry cloth.

The related art described above discloses a wide range of body wraps andbreast supports for inhibiting excessive breast movement. However, theprior art fails to disclose a body wrap with the construction andultimate performance of the present invention. The present disclosuredistinguishes over the prior art providing heretofore unknown advantagesas described in the following summary.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure teaches certain benefits in construction and use whichgive rise to the objectives described below.

It is well known that breast injury can occur due to aggressive activityand especially frequent and long cardio workouts such as running andjogging. The breasts are composed of mainly fatty tissue with themammary glands and some muscle. The muscle is deep so it cannot helpmuch in supporting the breast. Coopers ligaments help hold the breastsup. They are thin bands interwoven into the breast and are not verystrong. If the breasts are not supported properly, with, for instance, asports bra, then repetitive bouncing of the breasts from running canstretch the Coopers ligaments permanently. An additional problem iscalled “jogger's nipple.” This is a soreness in the nipple structurethat results from rubbing between the nipple and cover garments,including bras, during vigorous activity. Clearly a solution to theseproblems is needed.

Sports bras are well known and are available commercially. However, suchbras are relatively complex devices with straps, attachment hardware,and adjustment hardware. Manufacturers tend to provide such devices withcomplexity in an attempt to fit a wide range of persons well, secure thebreasts from movement during activity, and to make the product appear tobe worth the relatively high selling price. The device disclosed inZecher, US 2006/0046615 is a relatively simple approach and analternative to the common sports bra. This device firmly presses theuser's breasts against the torso in order to limit their movement in amanner similar to that of the presently described invention. However,this device, although similar to the present invention in form andfunction, falls short of the benefits of the present apparatus as willbe shown. One drawback is the generally rectangular end portions whichleave square corners free to get in the way of arm and hand motion asthey tend to bend outwardly.

The present invention is a breast restraining body wrap apparatusadapted for encircling the body in support of a woman's breasts duringvigorous activities such as jogging, and which is made up of a flexible,stretchable and compressible elongated panel having a porous neopreneinner layer bonded to a synthetic fiber layer on one or both sidesthereby forming a multi-layer integral assembly. A hook type fastenermaterial layer is joined to the panel at one end and a loop typefastener material layer is bonded to the synthetic fiber outer layer atan opposing second end of the panel. The two ends of the panel areformed as semicircles and are typically joined after stretching theapparatus and encircling the chest area of the body so as to achieve atight binding result. If the result is too loose or too tight, theapparatus may be reapplied to make small adjustments due to thelongitudinal extent of the loop attachment material. The circular endsof the restraint prevent corners or edges of the apparatus from bendinginto path of arm or hand movements while exercising. A key feature ofthe apparatus is that vapors are able to pass through the neoprene layerthereby allowing for evaporative cooling.

A primary objective inherent in the above described apparatus and methodof use is to provide advantages not taught by the prior art.

Another objective is to provide a body wrap that is able to comfortablysecure the breast mass of a woman while exercising.

A further objective is provide such a wrap that is able to adapt to awide range of body sizes and shapes.

A yet further objective is to provide such a wrap that is highlyflexible, strong, elastically extensive and enables vapor to pass easilytherethrough.

A further objective is to provide such a wrap that does not haveprotruding square corners that can be obtrusive during exercise.

A still further objective is to provide such a wrap that that has anelastic core covered by stretchable fabric on both sides for fabric-skincomfort and for abrasion resistance to the core material.

A yet further objective is to provide such a wrap that is able to berolled into a compact form for convenient portability.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following more detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way ofexample, the principles of the presently described apparatus and methodof its use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Illustrated in the accompanying drawing(s) is at least one of the bestmode embodiments of the present invention In such drawing(s):

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the outside surface of the presently describedapparatus;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the inside surface thereof;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken from FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken from FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an application of the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The above described drawing figures illustrate the described apparatusand its method of use in at least one of its preferred, best modeembodiment, which is further defined in detail in the followingdescription. Those having ordinary skill in the art may be able to makealterations and modifications to what is described herein withoutdeparting from its spirit and scope. Therefore, it must be understoodthat what is illustrated is set forth only for the purposes of exampleand that it should not be taken as a limitation in the scope of thepresent apparatus and method of use.

Described now in detail is a breast restraint panel 10 which isbeneficially used for encircling the upper torso of a persons bodymainly in support of breasts during vigorous activities such as runningand jogging. The panel 10 is flexible so as to enable it to be placedaround the torso; stretchable so as to provide a tight and tensionedfit; and compressible so that it provides comfort to the wearer. Thepanel 10 is formed, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with a relatively narrowmedial portion 12 and relatively wider end portions 14 and 16.Preferably, the end portions 14 and 16 terminate with circular or nearcircular edges 14 a and 16 a so as to avoid loose square corners whichget in the way of arm and hand movement during exercising. The panel 10is relatively thin in cross section as shown in FIGS. 3-5 having aporous layer 11 of a polychloroprene based rubber, such as Neoprene®,bonded to inner and outer layers 13 of a synthetic fiber such as Nylon®.Of course layers 11 and 13 may be made of alternate substances havingsimilar characteristics to Neoprene and Nylon. The porous character ofthe neoprene layer 11 is achieved by flocculating or foaming theNeoprene base material during the fabricating process. This materialtherefore is porous to gases and vapors providing evaporative cooling tothe athlete. The Nylon layers 13 are of a weave that allows this fabricto breath and stretch with the Neoprene layer 11. The Nylon layers 13provide protection against wear and abrasion to the Neoprene layer 11.Along the peripheral edges of the panel 10 all of the layers arepreferably joined by overlock serger stitching technique. Therefore,panel 10 is able to be manually stretched providing elastic forces thatcause the panel 10 to provide a tight binding fit on the torso. Layers11 and 13 are bonded together by either a heat process or a bondingagent, both techniques being well known in the art, and which provide aunitary composite structure that moves, flexes and stretches. The Nylonlayer 13 provides a soft fabric surface against the skin when the panel10 is used without an undergarment.

Overlaying and joined to the inner layer 13 at a first longitudinal endof the panel 10 is a hook type fastener material layer 20 as shown inFIGS. 1, 5 and 6; and bonded to the outer layer 13, at an opposingsecond longitudinal end of the panel 10, is a loop type fastenermaterial layer 22 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6. As shown in FIG. 2,layer 22 may be also placed along the first longitudinal end (left sidein FIG. 2) of panel 10 to provide a symmetrical appearance.

FIG. 2 shows that the loop type fastener material layer 22 is of suchlongitudinal extent as to enable the hook type fastener material 20layer to be joined thereto in establishing the panel 10 as a closed loopwith selective diameter having a range of sizes for tightly fittingabout a wide range of body sizes and conformations. The panel 10 isdonned as shown in FIG. 6 where the panel 10 is placed around the upperback and then the two terminal ends are pulled forward and closed aboutthe chest engaging the loop 22 and hook 20 surface fastener materials ata position that is tight, yet comfortable to the user.

The enablements described in detail above are considered novel over theprior art of record and are considered critical to the operation of atleast one aspect of the apparatus and its method of use and to theachievement of the above described objectives. The words used in thisspecification to describe the instant embodiments are to be understoodnot only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to includeby special definition in this specification: structure, material or actsbeyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an elementcan be understood in the context of this specification as including morethan one meaning, then its use must be understood as being generic toall possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word orwords describing the element.

The definitions of the words or drawing elements described herein aremeant to include not only the combination of elements which areliterally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts forperforming substantially the same function in substantially the same wayto obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is thereforecontemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements maybe made for any one of the elements described and its variousembodiments or that a single element may be substituted for two or moreelements in a claim.

Changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person withordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expresslycontemplated as being equivalents within the scope intended and itsvarious embodiments. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later knownto one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scopeof the defined elements. This disclosure is thus meant to be understoodto include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what isconceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted, and alsowhat incorporates the essential ideas.

The scope of this description is to be interpreted only in conjunctionwith the appended claims and it is made clear, here, that each namedinventor believes that the claimed subject matter is what is intended tobe patented.

1. A breast restraint apparatus for use during vigorous activities, theapparatus comprising: a flexible, stretchable and compressible elongatedpanel having a porous layer of a polychloroprene based rubber bonded toa synthetic fiber cloth layer, the cloth layer positioned on at leastone side of the porous layer, thereby forming an integral assembly oflayers; the porous layer of the polychloroprene based rubber isflocculated or foamed so that it is porous to gases and vapors, forproviding evaporative cooling to an athlete; a hook type fastenermaterial layer joined to, and overlaying, the integral assembly oflayers at one longitudinal end thereof; and a loop type fastenermaterial layer joined to and overlaying the integral assembly of layersat an opposing longitudinal end thereof, whereby the apparatus may beformed into a closed loop secured about an upper portion of a torso. 2.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the layers are joined peripherally by aserger closed loop stitching.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein amedial portion of the apparatus has a reduced width.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the longitudinal ends of the apparatus are configured ascontinuous curves.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the continuouscurves approximate half circles.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein theloop type fastener material layer is of such longitudinal extent as toenable engagement with the hook type fastener material layer to form aselected loop size for fitting about a selected human body.
 7. A breastrestraint apparatus for use during vigorous activities, the apparatuscomprising: a flexible, stretchable and compressible elongated panelhaving a gas permeable layer of resilient and elastic material bonded toa cloth layer positioned on at least one side thereof, thereby formingan integral assembly; a hook type fastener material layer overlaying theintegral assembly at one longitudinal end thereof; and a longitudinallyelongate loop type fastener material layer overlaying the integralassembly at an opposing longitudinal end thereof enabling mutualfastening of the longitudinal ends of the integral assembly forming aloop of a size adjusted to fit about a selected torso.